Back in Tennessee our property was covered with groundcherries (sometimes known as stone cherries, husk tomatoes, and sometimes Cape Gooseberries). Had I known how absolutely wonderful they tasted I would have taken full advantage of this free resource. I should have taken the time to identify the differences between the nightshade plants and the groundcherry instead of ripping out every lookalike for fear that my daughter would find the colorful fruit irresistible. After all, I could easily tell the difference between a tomatillo and Chinese lantern. They’re all part of the Physalis genus, and in the Solanaceae family which also gives us peppers and tomatoes. In my defense, our property was also covered with the smooth ground cherry – a known hallucinogenic (smooth groundcherry leaves are almost hairless and given the Latin name P. subglabrata).
When picking wild foods education is everything.
I said they were delicious, didn’t I? Yes, yes indeed. But it seems they’re a bit like cilantro. You either love ’em or you hate ’em. They have an evolving flavor. For me, they start of tasting like a pineapple, then mellow out a bit like a tomato with a distinctive flavor from its relative, the tomatillo. Hubby thinks they taste like bacon and pancakes, and finish like a tomato. The Kid despises them, but then again she is revolting against all fruits and vegetables at this time. If you can find them in your yard or in the wild, consider yourself lucky! I was fortunate to find them at the farmers market. I hope you get the chance to sample one this summer as they’re not only tasty, they’re rich in provitamin A – a healthy sweet and tart treat. If you get them, buy some up as they can last in cool storage for 3-6 months.
Groundcherry Salsa
(Phenomenal on fish, chicken, or chips)
- 1 cup groundcherries, sliced in half
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 cup (about three large) tomatillos, diced
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 clove garlic, smushed
- salt and pepper to taste
- (optional: green chilies, jalapenos, and/or cilantro)
Remove husks from ground cherries and tomatillos and wash them along with the tomatoes. Chop, dice and mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Ta Daaa! Couldn’t be much easier or healthy to add some flavor to a simple dish.
Chocolate covered Groundcherries
- Melting chocolate such as bark
- Groundcherries
- Pull husks of groundcherries up, but do not remove. Wash fruit and allow to dry. Try not to get husks wet.
- While they’re drying, melt chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Use husks as a handle and dip the cherry in the chocolate, then set on parchment to cool completely.
- If hard chocolates aren’t your thing, consider fondue!
Jennifer can be found at Unearthing this Life; her blarg about self-sustainability, gardening, cooking, and family.
I’ve never heard of these. I’m in TN, I wonder if I’ve seen them and just didn’t even know it!
I grew these in my greenhouse this year for the first time, and love them! They are a sprawling rather than an upright plant, so they take up a lot of valuable real estate in the greenhouse, but man, are they tasty! The instructions on the seed package (I got the seeds from Veseys here in Canada) said they are ready when the fruit, husk and all, drops to the ground – which makes it all seem to me like the plants are giving me a present! I pop into the greenhouse whenever I pass by, to see if there are any gifts waiting for me…
Gorgeous pictures and post! I haven’t seen them in my neck of the woods, but I’ll start looking in order to try that salsa!
I tried my first ground cherry this year; delicious! Not just the flavor, but the wonderful firm texture–like a tiny nectarine!
I had some in my last house. Once you have them they re-seed themselve, very easy to grow: just thin a bit so they have a chance to get bigger. It is one produce they have not figured how to harvest with machinery and tend to be pricey in store. It is so easy to grow buying them sound like a rip off!
They also make a pretty tasty jam, with enough sugar it tastes (and looks) a lot like fig jam.
They are insanely easy to grow from seed, too.
We planted them this year after finding them at the farmers market this past winter. JJ loves them. We have enjoyed them but 3 plants was more than we could keep up with fresh… Wish I’d had your suggestions a month ago. Hope they re-seed here. If now we will be replanting next year.